4 Ways To Protect Your Ears From Hearing Loss, From An Audiologist

"There are very small preventable measures that young people could be taking that would prevent permanent hearing loss and ringing in the ears, called tinnitus," says Taylor.

It's normal to experience some hearing loss as you get older (aka age-related hearing loss or presbycusis), due to changes in the inner and middle ear and along the neural pathways from the ear to the brain, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Genetics, certain medical conditions (such as high blood pressure and diabetes), and some medications (including those for chemotherapy) can also contribute to hearing loss as you age, per the NIH.

While scientists haven't figured out how to prevent presbycusis just yet, you can take steps to stave off hearing loss due to noise, which is incredibly common. An estimated 17% of 20- to 69-year-old adults have permanent hearing damage due to excessive noise exposure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Unless your job (think construction or woodworking) requires it, you may not think to wear hearing protection in noisy spaces. But in reality, you should be wearing earplugs when you're attending a music festival, riding a motorcycle, or even mowing your lawn, says Taylor.

Without them, "you could experience temporary tinnitus or temporary hearing loss," she adds. "Sometimes after noise exposure, we see a temporary threshold shift, where if someone tested your hearing right after that concert, you would present with hearing loss. It can recover, but you would definitely leave the concert with ringing in your ears."

In fact, sporting events are so loud, you might suffer hearing loss after just 15 minutes of exposure, and it can take as little as five minutes to harm your hearing while at a nightclub or concert. Generally speaking, the louder the sound and longer the exposure, the less time it takes and the greater the risk for hearing loss to occur, according to the CDC.

People often push back on wearing ear protection at concerts, says Taylor, as they believe they won't be able to hear the artist with plugs in. But there are earplugs on the market, such as those from Loop and Eargasm, that are specifically designed for music—and look pretty cute to boot, she notes. "You hear the music perfectly; it's just a little softer," she adds. "In my opinion, the music sounds a little better because it's not, like, painfully loud."

To be able to instantly determine whether you should wear hearing protection, download a decibel meter app, such as Decibel X, on your phone, recommends Taylor. You can also turn on the Health app's Environmental Sound Levels setting on your Apple Watch, which records the sound levels (measured in decibels) in your environment and the amount of time you're exposed to it so you can tweak your routine accordingly.

Though it's tempting to stick a cotton swab in your ear canal when you see a bit of wax, it can do more harm than good, says Taylor. "It's a common misconception that you need to clean your ears," she says. "The skin in the ear canal is the only skin on the body that moves, so it's designed to push out debris. But when you put a Q-tip in there, you're just pushing the wax further in."

That can not only cause pain to the sensitive eardrum, says Taylor, but over time, it may also lead to a buildup of impacted wax that can block the ear canal2 and create temporary hearing loss. 

Not to mention, ear wax is actually beneficial; it prevents itching, keeps the skin hydrated, protects the eardrum, and is antimicrobial, helping to prevent infection, says Taylor. However, if ear wax is lingering on the outer edge of your ear canal and it's bothering you, it's typically safe to gently wipe it with a tissue wrapped around your finger, taking care not to go inside your ear canal, she says.

A hearing exam may not be a part of your health screening routine, but it's time you add it to your to-do list. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association recommends3 adults have a screening by an audiologist once a decade. Once you turn 50, you'll want to have your hearing checked every three years, or more frequently if you have known risk factors, per the Association. 

Regardless of your age, book an appointment with an audiologist if you're experiencing any signs of hearing loss or damage, whether it be struggling with everyday conversations, experiencing ringing in your ears, noticing a difference in hearing between your two ears, or feeling dizzy regularly, says Taylor.